Regina Miele: I was over there hanging the show with Brian [Petro] and Marie Ringwald the other day. One of the things I look forward to the most, is seeing every one. It sounds so simple. I also really like getting a hometown response to my work.

ArtSee:Can you tell us more about your painting in Art17, Mid-City Blue?

Miele:Over the entire time I’ve been in the [Mid City] neighborhood, I’ve been painting views of the rooftops and things I’ve been walking past everyday and the enormous change that has occurred in that area. That painting is of an actual house on T Street between 13th and 14th. I’ve always found it really beautiful and interesting.

There is something particular in the decay, especially now that everything on every side of it is completely redone and gentrified. One aspect I’ve always been exploring in my work, is what is the idea of beauty. I like taking something that someone would just drive by and then render it beautifully with a traditional medium like oil painting.

ArtSee:How has being a Mid City Artist impacted your art career?

Miele:The biggest thing it has done for me over the years, it has made me a lot more open to having my work seen kind of in a half-finished, un-finished, in-the-middle-of-thinking-it-out state. And the open studios are very valuable in having people who are not critics. It’s a much more laid back venue than the opening of a gallery show. I think the feedback is more honest than it would be in a gallery situation. The opportunities to talk about my work and process helps with hashing out my own ideas. What people may not realize about artists, I’ll do a lot of writing before a body of work. It can take a year to 18 months and there is something very important to getting feedback, even if its feedback you’re not thrilled to hear.